Barack Obama spiritual mentor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., preaches last sermon

[BeyondGeography]

Fiery to the end, leader urges pursuit of success

By Margaret Ramirez | Tribune reporter
10:41 PM CST, February 10, 2008

In a stirring sermon that weaved the hopefulness of past African generations with dreams for the future, Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. preached his final sermon Sunday at Trinity United Church of Christ, leaving a 36-year legacy as pastor and activist in the black community.

Despite the howl of a bitter wind, hundreds packed into Trinity to hear Wright, 66, a fiery speaker, preach at the church one last time. Wright had served as spiritual mentor to Sen. Barack Obama. In the late 1980s, Obama joined Trinity and would later base his historic speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention on a Wright sermon called "Audacity to Hope."

Obama was one of the thousands who joined Trinity under Wright's leadership. When Wright became Trinity's pastor in 1972, the church had 85 members. Today, Trinity has a congregation of 8,500, with more than 80 ministries, making it one of the largest and most influential black churches in the nation.

Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s last Sunday as pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ Video
At Sunday's 11 a.m. service, Wright preached on the New Testament account of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead in the sermon "Looks Can Be Deceiving."

He spoke about the tradition of African storytelling to illustrate how past generations preserved and passed on stories to teach their children how to hold onto hope amid the pain and suffering of slavery.

Though Wright did not mention Obama by name, he spoke about how a biracial child could use that same hope to overcome racism, go to an Ivy League law school and become a politician. Obama received his law degree from Harvard University and was the first black editor of the Harvard Law Review.

"But, if you use your mind, instead of a lost statistic in a hate-filled universe, you just may end up a law student at Harvard University.

"In fact, if you use your mind, you might end up as the editor of the Harvard Law Review. If you use your mind, instead of a statistic destined for the poor house, you just may end up a statesman destined for the . . . Yes, we can!" Wright said, using the popular Obama slogan to bring the crowd to its feet...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-wright_11feb11,1,4431179.story

[jackson_dem]

1. If Obama is the nominee we will hear a lot about this guy...

[seriousstan]

2. Timing is everything.

[LeftyMom]

3. That reads suspiciously like an endorsement from the pulpit.

It's no less objectionable when our side does it than when some ignorant redneck in South Bumblefuck suggests that it'd be pretty cool if there was a real live Baptist preacher in the oval office.